Sleek setting for gemstones in Palo Alto

A ring with a Carnelian stone from the Elixir Vitae collection on display at Dualitas metaphysical jewelry shop Jan. 16, 2016 in Palo Alto, Calif.

Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle

Leave it to a Silicon Valley titan to create a jewelry line that imparts the earth’s metaphysical and healing properties.

A year ago, semiconductor industry veteran Atiq Raza teamed up with his jewelry-designer wife, Nandini Saraiya Raza, to create Dualitas, a modern jewelry brand that incorporates gemstones into settings that intentionally place the stone in direct contact with the skin.

Style that Sparkles

It’s a fashionable and inconspicuous way to get your chakras balanced with healing stones like rose quartz, white onyx and blue lace chalcedony that are more typically found in clunky (and chunky) settings.

“Nandini’s mother is a gemologist, so there’s a long tradition with gems in her family,” says chief creative officer Cynthia Solis. “I grew up in a family that practiced alternative medicine, so I’ve always believed in the gemstone’s metaphysical properties.”

In November, the team opened up their retail shop in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village. All the collections — Elixir, SuperStrata, SuperNatural, SuperHero and SuperMeilleur — incorporate gemstones, minerals and metals from Jaipur, India, where Nandini also sources precious gems for her luxury line, Reveti. Solis and Dualitas’ creative director, Bopanna Ulliyada, frequently travel to Jaipur to meet gem dealers and artisans who handcraft the pieces.

But you won’t find incense wafting through the bright, modern shop, where pieces ($125-$475) are openly displayed along with an assortment of complementary goods. Only the brand’s raw diamond collection, SuperMeilleur, and select pieces from Reveti are kept under glass.

Solis shares her thoughts about the line and its first location.

Q: Why did you open in Palo Alto, and more specifically, in Town and Country?

A: We are a Palo Alto-based team, and most of us live here on the Peninsula. We wanted to make sure we established a base in our community first. Town & Country Village reminds me of Nolita in NYC, where I was based.

A: Our customer is someone that looks for meaning in even the small, everyday items. All our jewelry has intent behind its design. Today’s consumer wants more than just a pretty product; they want something functional, meaningful and long lasting.

Q: Is Palo Alto and its suburban environment in Silicon Valley a good spot for jewelry with healing properties?

A: Our jewelry brand is a nice, open concept that really captures the entrepreneurial open-mindedness that you find in Silicon Valley. I think people here can appreciate an everyday item that can help keep one centered and focused whether he or she believes in the metaphysical healing properties or not. It’s similar to aromatherapy or yoga that helps calm the mind after working around the clock on the next big thing.

Q: How did you conceptualize the interior space? How much of the jewelry line played in to that?

A: We wanted a space that provides the same sense of modern yet natural feel that our jewelry provides. Jewelry is supposed to be kept and reused and worn over time, and many of the wooden fixtures that were used to create the environment were repurposed and hand-finished, which lends a nod to our handcrafted jewelry.

Q: How did the other products in the store come about?

A: The idea was to incorporate all the things I have seen in Silicon Valley, but kick it up a fashionable notch. Prairie Underground is a modern and feminine update to the ubiquitous Silicon Valley hoodie. And Barons Papillom is a Parisian sneaker brand that looks amazing and has innovative functionality. When I spoke with designer Pamela Barsky about creating a pouch for us, she took my comments and created one tailored for the VC environment. (The first one we sold was to a VC!)

“The slicing of these rough stones provides a different view of the traditional faceted ruby and offers a more casual price point. The piece has stones on both sides so you never have to worry about which side faces forward.”

SuperMeilleur: rose and rough-cut link earrings, $2,800

“I really love these nontraditional 4C (color, cut, clarity, carat weight) diamonds. They’re less formal, but still glamorous. I also love that they have different color variations, making them much more interesting than your typical clear diamond.”